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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858265">Always Bet on Purple</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura'>misura</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, POV First Person, Tentacles, Wedding Night</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:07:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Um," Luke said. "Can I just say, wow. I'm not sure I have any secrets left that can top that."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luke | Rinaldo/Merlin (Chronicles of Amber)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Just Married Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Always Bet on Purple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenade/gifts">Serenade</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>canon divergence: Luke doesn't find out about Merlin's shapeshifting powers earlier. (well, and they get married, but that one's obvious.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The bed was big and very comfortable looking. A bit of a relief: I'd been half-worried someone had done some research into nuptial traditions in the Courts and decided that they were just what this mess of a marriage to get off to an even worse start.</p><p>"Something wrong?" Luke asked. "Please don't tell me there's an assassin hidden under there."</p><p>"There's two, but I think they're just here for you, so I'm going to step aside and let you deal with your own problems for once."</p><p>"Hey, unfair!" He made a show of checking, which hurt my feelings just a bit.</p><p>"Yeah. Any assassins showing up are probably going to be after me, not you."</p><p>"Don't you worry your pretty little head about any of that stuff. I'll protect you," he promised. He sounded sincere about it, too.</p><p>I'd have felt touched, except that if anything, I was worried about Luke getting caught in the crossfire. He might talk a good game and have a few tricks up his sleeve himself, but, well.</p><p>As I had just more or less admitted to a rather large number of people, I cared.</p><p>"Speaking of which, any more deep, dark secrets you've been keeping from me?"</p><p>I snorted. "You want to know my deep, dark secrets, you're going to have to do more than ask nicely."</p><p>Luke blinked, looking a bit surprised before his expression turned speculative. "That almost sounds like a challenge. You sure you're up for something like that right now?"</p><p>"I believe it's somewhat traditional on occasions like this."</p><p>"Well, yeah," he said, "but, you know. Been there, done that. Not that I wouldn't be happy to do some more of that - or lots more, in fact. I don't know, I guess I like the idea of making tonight something special."</p><p>I sized up the bed again. Not nearly big enough.</p><p>"Merle? Whatever weird sex thing you just thought of, I'm game if you are," Luke said.</p><p>I decided what the hell and started the transformation process. I'd eaten plenty, so I felt confident I had the energy to spare. "If you change your mind five minutes from now, please know I won't think any less of you."</p><p>"Hey now, come on, that's - " Luke shut up. "Um. You're doing that, right? It's not some sort of spell or weird curse or something? I think I've got some garlic somewhere, and I'm pretty sure that candlestick's silver."</p><p>"I'm a Lord of Chaos." In succession for the throne, but I saw no reason to mention that. The key to a successful marriage is to always keep something back, isn't that what they say? Keep the mystery alive.</p><p>"Is that a yes?" Luke asked. He sounded a bit nervous now.</p><p>I suddenly wondered if this was, in fact, one of my better ideas, or even just an okay one.</p><p>Then again, if Luke couldn't handle my demonform, I'd rather find out sooner than later.</p><p>"Yes," I said, or tried to. It came out sounding a bit more like 'yyeeessss'. I had about reached full size, and the ceiling was looking rather close all of a sudden. Happily, I didn't actually need to crouch.</p><p>"Um," Luke said. "Can I just say, wow. I'm not sure I have any secrets left that can top that."</p><p>"You mean you're still keeping secrets from me?" Transformation complete, my voice had gone back to being intelligible, even if my mouth and throat really had not been designed with Thari in mind. Still, it's a poor wizard who can't make himself be understood regardless of his corporeal form.</p><p>"Secrets are the key to a successful marriage, Merle. But I promise you, nothing that's likely to get you in any trouble. Not this week, anyway," he amended, just a little bit too quickly.</p><p>"Fine," I said. "I believe you."</p><p>"I don't. Believe you kept this from me all this time, that is," Luke said. "Can you take other shapes as well, or just this one? And what's it for? Do you need to go nest somewhere once every four years or so, and can you only survive the environment by looking like that?"</p><p>"What?" I said, because, what? "No. Nothing like that. It's - you choose a shape you like and once you've mastered that one, you learn others. In theory, I could look like anything at all."</p><p>"Anything ... or anyone? I can see some interesting potential there," Luke said.</p><p>I was relieved we seemed to have moved on from the topic of my nesting habits. "There are limits, of course. This form is the one I'm most comfortable with, the one I've spent a lot of time in."</p><p>"All right," Luke said. "So how did you want to do this? Because if that thing there is what I think it is, we might have a bit of a size problem. Not that I'm not up for the challenge."</p><p>"It's a tail." It was one now, anyway. "I have - " I hadn't actually thought he'd be up for something like this, I realized. My mistake. " - other stuff," I said, and then I did. I wasn't 100% sure it would work, but I supposed we would find out. I still had six working hand-like appendices, a very flexible tongue and no gag reflex worth mentioning.</p><p>"Oh," Luke said, which could have meant anything. Then he added, "Like tentacles?"</p><p>If tentacles were what he wanted, I could definitely give him some. "What color did you have in mind?"</p><p>He laughed a little, and then he stopped.</p><p>I suppose you really can't go wrong with purple.</p>
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